The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has just unveiled the winners of the 2018 Small Business Person of the Year award. Each year the SBA recognizes and honors one small business owner from each state including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as the Small Business Person of the Year.

South Carolina’s recipient for the 2018 Small Business Person of the Year award is Colonel (Ret.) Dave McNeil, President and CEO of Hannah Solar Government Services (HSGS).

McNeil started HSGS in 2009 after serving the U.S. Army for 30 years, with his last tour of duty serving as the Base Commander at Fort Dix in New Jersey. HSGS is a service disabled veteran-owned business located in Charleston, SC that specializes in the engineering, design, installation, and maintenance of solar PV systems, battery energy systems, and microgrids. Serving the government, commercial/industrial, and utility marketplaces, HSGS’s breadth of experience includes projects that span the continental United States as well as overseas.

Nominations for the Small Business Person of the Year award were evaluated on the following criteria: growth in number of employees, increase in sales for calendar years 2014, 2015 and 2016, innovativeness of product or service offered, contributions to community, response to adversity, and substantiated history as an established business.

McNeil says “My team and I are humbled to have been nominated for this award and I am honored to represent the state of South Carolina as their Small Business Person of the Year for 2018.”

A ceremony will be hosted in Washington D.C. this spring to honor McNeil and the other 51 state winners of the Small Business Person of the Year award, as well as to announce the recipient of the overall 2018 National Small Business Person of the Year.

Administrator Linda McMahon, head of the U.S. SBA says “These small business owners define entrepreneurial spirit and best represent the 30 million small businesses that are the backbone and economic engine of our economy. I look forward to welcoming the winners to Washington next month when they are officially honored for their achievements.”